GameEx vs RetroFE
GameEx
gameex.comRetroFE
retrofe.nlSide by side
| Figure | GameEx | RetroFE |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game launchers | 9.3 (#4) | 8.5 (#15) |
| Spec score · Game Library Managers | 9.1 (#3) | 7.9 (#13) |
| Controls | It supports arcade controls including X-Arcade, Slik-Stik, JPAC and IPAC, as well as remotes and gamepads. | Controls can be configured for keyboard and gamepad or joystick input. |
| Purpose | GameEx is an arcade and emulator front end for MAME, GameBase, Daphne, PC games and command-line emulators, and also offers HTPC features. | RetroFE is a front end for displaying, selecting, and launching games, videos, and programs, commonly for game emulation. |
| Security | The setup guide warns that security experts have not examined GameExtender for security issues and advises using it over networks at the user's own risk. | The maker pages opened describe RetroFE as a locally configured front end and do not state security certifications or compliance claims. |
| Support | The maker says commercial support and customizations are available and in many cases provided free of charge. | The maker describes RetroFE as supported by an active and helpful community and points users to its forums. |
Plans
In their own words
GameEx
GameEx is an arcade and emulator front end for MAME, GameBase, Daphne, PC games and command-line emulators, with HTPC features. The site lists original GameEx, GameEx Arcade Edition and GameEx Evolution. Its feature list describes support for nearly any emulator, with advanced MAME support, and compatibility with arcade controls such as X-Arcade, Slik-Stik, JPAC and IPAC, as well as remotes and gamepads. Media features include video and DVD playback, picture viewing, internet radio, a jukebox, a news reader and a YouTube module. Named integrations include Steam, EA Origin, Uplay, iTunes, Windows Media Player, GameBase, GameEx Arcade and the TMDb API. GameEx Online and GameExtender add networked display, remote control and online game statistics. Its listed free plan costs nothing, but commercial use requires each copy to be registered or purchased. The listing includes Android, Linux, macOS and Windows; the maker describes Linux or Mac use through WINE as experimental, while the multiplatform alpha builds may lack features.
RetroFE
RetroFE is a free, open-source front end for displaying, selecting and launching games, videos and programs, commonly used for game emulation. Collections arrange games and menu items into systems and submenus, and can show media such as box art, screenshots, logos and videos. Layouts set the front end’s appearance, with the option for collections to use their own layouts. Launcher configuration specifies an executable and arguments for starting an emulator, application or game; per-game launcher settings can override a collection’s default. Controls such as up, down, select and back are configured in a controls file. Its game information database can hold details including year, manufacturer, genre and player count. Setup involves editing global settings and controls files, then adding or editing collections. Full releases include a 32-bit Windows executable and a 64-bit Linux executable. Windows requires a recent Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio; some Linux distributions may require compiling from source. macOS users need to compile their own executable. Community-made themes are available for installation in the layouts directory, and the maker points users to forums and describes community support.